Etymology
1. O.E.
mæg "I am able" (inf.
magan, pt.
meahte, mihte), from P.Gmc. root
*mag-, inf.
*maganan (cf. O.Fris.
muga, O.N.
mega, Du.
mogen, Ger.
mögen, Goth.
magan "to be able"), from PIE
*mogh-/*megh- "power" (cf. Gk.
mekhos, makhos "means, instrument," O.C.S.
mogo "to be able,"
mosti "power, force," Skt.
mahan "great"). Also related to might (q.v.).
Mayhap is 1536, from phrase
(it) may hap.
2. From Middle English magen, mauen, mawe, mawen, mayen, maȝen, mouin, mow, mowen, moȝen, mugen, from Old English magan, from Proto-West Germanic *magan, from Proto-Germanic *maganą (“to be able, may”), from Proto-Indo-European *(me)mógʰe (“to be able”), from *megʰ- (“to be able”).
3. Cognates
4. Cognate with Scots mey (“may”), Yola ma, maa, mai, mey, mye (“may”), North Frisian mai, mei, mooge (“like to, would”), West Frisian meie (“may; to like”), Alemannic German möge (“may; can”), Bavarian megn (“to like; to want to”), Central Franconian mugge (“to like; may”), Cimbrian mögan, möng (“may”), Dutch mogen (“to be allowed; may; to like”), German and Low German mögen (“to like; would like; may”), Yiddish מעגן (megn, “may”), Danish måtte (“have to; may”), Faroese and Icelandic mega (“may; must”), Norwegian Bokmål måtta (“may; must”), Norwegian Nynorsk måtta, måtte (“may; must”), Swedish må (“may; must”), Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌲𐌰𐌽 (magan, “to be able, can, may”); also Irish smacht (“ordinance, regulation, rule; dominion, sway; control, discipline, restraint; fine, penalty”), Lithuanian mėgti (“to like”), Belarusian магчы́ (mahčý, “to be able”), Bulgarian мо́га (móga, “to be able”), Czech moci (“to be able”), Kashubian mòc (“to be able”), Lower Sorbian moc, móc, moz (“to be able”), Macedonian може (može, “to be able”), Pannonian Rusyn мочи (moči, “to be able”), Polish móc (“to be able”), Russian мочь (močʹ, “to be able”), Serbo-Croatian мо̏ћи, mȍći (“to be able”), Slovak môcť (“to be able; be allowed to”), Slovene moči (“to be able”), Slovincian môc (“to be able”), Ukrainian могти́ (mohtý, “to be able”), Persian مغ (moġ, “magus”), Sanskrit मघ (magha, “power, wealth; bounty, gift, reward”). See: Middle English '
magen', Old English '
magan', Proto-Germanic '
*maganą', Scots '
mey', Alemannic German '
möge', Cimbrian 'mögan', Dutch '
mogen', Danish '
måtte', Norwegian '
måtta', Norwegian, nynorsk '
måtta', Swedish '
må', Lithuanian '
mėgti', Bulgarian '
мо́га', Czech '
moci', Macedonian '
може', Polish '
móc', Russian '
мочь', Slovak '
môcť', Slovene '
moči'.
Verbs referencing "may"
German, old spelling
mögen, Low Saxon mögen, Russian
мочь, Danish
måtte, Alemannic German
möge, Ukrainian
могти, Old Church Slavonic
мощи, German, Pennsylvania
meege, Cimbrian mögan.